There is a chance you will see polar bears in places like Svalbard and Franz Josef Land, but the odds that you will see one during a landing or onshore activity is highly unlikely – and we work hard to keep it that way. Most people who visit the Arctic want to see a polar bear, but it is our top priority to ensure that all wildlife sightings are safe both for our passengers and the wildlife.

In a few of our Arctic areas of operation, polar bears sightings are fairly common. Though we can obviously never guarantee we’ll see polar bears, these areas are great places to look for them. Our captains, crews, and guides (with help from our passengers) keep a close lookout for polar bears at all of our landing sites, and if we see any, we do not go to shore.

If no bears are spotted, however, our guides will scout the area from our Zodiac boats to make sure no polar bears have escaped notice. Only then will we attempt a landing. During landings in polar bear country, our guides carry powerful rifles in case of the unlikely event of an encounter with a bear that has gone undetected. If we spot a bear, we immediately evacuate and return to the ship.

You can find out more about our bear safety procedures below: